Surfactants refer to substances that can significantly reduce the surface tension of the target solution, generally having fixed hydrophilic and lipophilic groups that can be arranged in a directional manner on the surface of the solution. Surfactants mainly include two categories: ionic surfactants and non ionic surfactants. Ionic surfactants also include three types: anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, and zwitterionic surfactants.
The upstream of the surfactant industry chain is the supply of raw materials such as ethylene, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, palm oil, and ethylene oxide; The midstream is responsible for the production and production of various segmented products, including polyols, polyoxyethylene ethers, fatty alcohol ether sulfates, etc; Downstream, it is widely used in fields such as food, cosmetics, industrial cleaning, textile printing and dyeing, and washing products.
From the downstream market perspective, the detergent industry is the main application field of surfactants, accounting for over 50% of downstream demand. Cosmetics, industrial cleaning, and textile printing and dyeing all account for about 10%. With the continuous development of China's economy and the expansion of industrial production scale, the overall production and sales of surfactants have maintained an upward trend. In 2022, the production of surfactants in China exceeded 4.25 million tons, a year-on-year increase of about 4%, and the sales volume was about 4.2 million tons, a year-on-year increase of about 2%.
China is a major producer of surfactants. With the continuous progress of production technology, our products have gradually gained recognition in the international market due to their quality and performance advantages, and have a broad overseas market. In recent years, the export quantity has maintained a growing trend. In 2022, the export volume of surfactants in China was approximately 870000 tons, a year-on-year increase of about 20%, mainly exported to countries and regions such as Russia, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc.
From the perspective of production structure, the production of non-ionic surfactants in China in 2022 is about 2.1 million tons, accounting for nearly 50% of the total production of surfactants, ranking first. The production of anionic surfactants is about 1.7 million tons, accounting for about 40%, ranking second. The two are the main subdivision products of surfactants.
In recent years, the country has issued policies such as the "14th Five Year Plan for High Quality Development of the Surfactant Industry", the "14th Five Year Plan for High Quality Development of China's Detergent Industry", and the "14th Five Year Plan for Green Industrial Development" to create a good development environment for the surfactant industry, promote industry transformation and upgrading, and develop towards green, environmental protection, and high quality.
At present, there are many participants in the market, and the industry competition is relatively fierce. At present, there are still some problems in the surfactant industry, such as outdated production technology, substandard environmental protection facilities, and insufficient supply of high value-added products. The industry still has significant development space. In the future, under the guidance of national policies and the choice of market survival and elimination, the merger and elimination of enterprises in the surfactant industry will become more frequent, and the industry concentration is expected to further increase.
Post time: Oct-10-2023